Jacks impress at open

The South Dakota State wrestling team
scored multiple placewinners at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open.

In its season-opening home open, the Jacks
impressed in front of a strong crowd on Sunday. The open format
allowed SDSU to enter numerous athletes in many weight classes.

Aaron Pickrel wrestled at the lowest weight
for SDSU and finished in third place. Pickrel scored falls versus Smith (Midland)
in 2:45 and Vieyra (Augustana) in 5:30 before scoring a 7-2 decision versus
Weber (North Dakota State). In the wrestleback, Pickrel won by fall in less
than 40 seconds versus Bundy (Iowa Central) and completed his comeback as a
placewinner with a 2-1 decision versus Weber (North Dakota State).

One of two SDSU wrestlers at 133 pounds,
Brance Simms placed fourth. Simms won by 17-1 technical fall versus Menendez
(Mary) and 10-2 decision versus Wilmert (Midland). In the wrestleback, Simms
won by fall versus Jans (Augustana) in 3:56, a 6-0 decision versus Chestnut
(Augustana) and a 7-4 decision versus Cathey (North Dakota State) to advance to
the third-place match, where he was narrowly defeated 3-2.

In the 141-pound weight class, Will James
turned heads with a second-place finish. James won by a tight 2-0 decision
versus Sand (Simpson), fall versus Fender (Northwestern) in 4:35 and a
convincing 12-4 decision versus Ziemann (Midland). In the semifinals, James won
by 11-2 major decision versus Peterson (Augustana) to advance to the finals,
where he was narrowly defeated 4-0.

Dustin Walraven placed third as the lone
competitor for the Jacks at 149. Walraven won by fall versus Anderson
(Nebraska) in less than one minute and 18-4 major decision versus Shupe
(Minnesota). In the wrestleback, Walraven defeated Brown (Jamestown) by 15-3
major decision, Babcock (Nebraska) by a 4-1 decision, Rangell (Minnesota) by
fall in 3:18 and placed with a 14-3 major decision versus Zeman (Minnesota).

At 157, one of the deepest weight
classes, Cody Pack led SDSU and advanced to the finals. Pack scored a 20-6
major decision versus Zeke Nistrian (Nebraska), 17-4 major decision versus Brad Dolezal
(Minnesota) and a 20-5 technical fall versus Winkler (Midland). In the
semifinals, Pack punched his ticket for the finals with an 8-2 decision versus
Geoghegan (Iowa Central). In the finals, Pack squared off with No. 5 James Green (Nebraska)
and lost a tough match by 7-4 decision.

A pair of SDSU wrestlers, Troy Morisette
and Tyler White, made an impact at 174. Morisette won by a 6-4 decision versus
Newberg (Nebraska) and 2-0 decision versus Holthaus (Iowa Central) before
scoring a 5-0 decision versus Hicks (Iowa Central) in the wrestleback. White
won by 21-6 technical fall versus Clay (Northern State) and worked through the
wrestleback with a fall versus Holthaus in 3:10 and a 12-6 decision versus
Branson (Jamestown). After one win and one loss for each, the two squared off
for fifth place, where Morisette won by a 6-0 decision.

In the 197-pound weight class, Brandon Ballard worked his way through the wrestleback and finished fifth. Ballard won with
a 5-2 decision versus Witzel (Simpson), fall versus Granum (SDSU) in 1:48 and
fall versus Castlebury (North Dakota State) in 2:06 to place.

At the top weight, J.J. Everard placed
sixth. Everard won by 13-4 major decision versus Busch (Iowa Central) before a
narrow 5-3 decision versus teammate Jacob Haydel and won by fall versus
Gusewelle (North Dakota State) in less than 40 seconds for the place.